Late 17th century; earliest use found in Aylett Sammes (c1636–c1679), antiquary. Partly a revival of Old English rūn-staef, with remodelling after stave, and partly from rune + stave after the Old English word or one of its cognates or parallels in other Germanic languages: compare Old High German rūnstab, Old Icelandic rúnastafr, Swedish runstav, Danish runestav.